Wyoming welder faces $75,000 a day in EPA fines for building pond on his property

[rekees4300]

The obvious problem is that government has grown beyond the founders wildest nightmares. The questions is, what do we as pissed off Americans do about it?

A mass tax revolt would get their attention.

 

[timster2]

What happens when a few beavers take up residence and make a dam?

 

[crash325]

And the people downstream that would benefit from having a free flowing stream? Now that it is blocked and changing the environment of the stream for flora and fauna.

Creating a small dam to create a duck or wild life pond does not change things down stream. Fairly soon the pond will fill and the water goes pretty much back to normal.

 

[powerpace]

Creating a small dam to create a duck or wild life pond does not change things down stream. Fairly soon the pond will fill and the water goes pretty much back to normal.

Small yes. But size is relative to the supposed end use of the builder.

 

[dave1949]

Creating a small dam to create a duck or wild life pond does not change things down stream. Fairly soon the pond will fill and the water goes pretty much back to normal.

I don't think that is true. Putting in a pond where there was not one, that is fed and drained by a stream introduces a whole host of new organisms into the stream. It may also raise the water temperature downstream for some distance. It may contribute to silting, and algae growth due to a higher nutrient load, in the stream bed.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

I don't think that is true. Putting in a pond where there was not one, that is fed and drained by a stream introduces a whole host of new organisms into the stream. It may also raise the water temperature downstream for some distance. It may contribute to silting, and algae growth due to a higher nutrient load, in the stream bed.

Like when beavers dam it up?

 

[dave1949]

Like when beavers dam it up?

timster2 mentioned beavers also. I'm sure beavers do alter the nature of a stream below their pond. In a dry spell, they may choke off a small stream entirely, or just a little bit of seepage at their dam makes it into the stream.

Without better pics, it's hard to say if beavers would have built a pond in the same place. The trees behind Andy & family would support beavers but I don't know where they are in relation to the stream. But, let's say they would--assuming there would usually be trees lining a stream or drainage--which appear to be missing around the pond. The trees along trout streams are important for keeping the water cool in summer. The trees that naturally topple into a stream provide good fish habitat in the form of protective cover, and by altering the water flow to produce pools.

Beavers build a pond by flooding flatish areas where the water is not moving too fast. They excavate some mud for their lodge and for use in the dam, but not nearly as much as someone digging a pond with machinery does. They usually exhaust the nearby food sources after several years and move to a new location. The male kits are forced to migrate away by the parent beavers in any case at around one year of age. There would normally always be young beavers looking for a new location.

After the beavers abandon a pond, the dam eventually deteriorates and the pond is drained often leaving behind a boggy, marshy area that takes several years to fully dry out. It does dry eventually and there will be a progression of wetland plants to trees over time. When enough tree regrowth has occurred to support a beaver looking for new home, the cycle begins again.

With successive colonies of beavers damming the same pond area, the natural soil erosion from upstream is deposited in the pond area each time it is dammed. Eventually this accumulates and forms what is called a beaver meadow in the area behind the dam. On sloping ground, the beavers often build terraced ponds, progressively moving the main pond area over time as colonies come and go, and the filling meadow area becomes more difficult to flood.

As you can see, beavers create a variety of habitats from fish and water fowl ponds, to marshes, to rich topsoil meadows. In turn those habitats support a wealth of biodiversity and act as natural water filters and erosion controllers. Beavers are responsible for much of the natural characteristics of small waterways and their adjacent areas.

It is hard to equate what beavers create, the natural progression to varied habitats, with a pond that will be purposely held in a static state. Add in cattle that will graze and wade, and the lack of natural vegetation surrounding the pond, and the result is not comparable to the effects of a beaver pond. Over the long term, the resulting impact on the stream is not the same either.

 

[TomSeller]

A mass tax revolt would get their attention.

Remember the French Revolution. Off with their heads.

 

[sparc]

I know how Mr Johnson must feel. I have a five acre lake on my property-NO, I didn't build it. I wanted to construct a rock barricade at the outlet so I could raise the lake level a little and control the escapement in late summer/early fall. The permitting process I would have to go thru completely discouraged this project. AND there is no stream involved and the entire lake is contained within my ownership. I got quite hostile with the gov representative and questioned his agencies authority over what I did on my property. I finally realized - due to our animosity- this project would never be approved. There must be special "stupid animosity training" for gov officials.

---- and the day came when they fought like warrior-poets and won their FREEDOM ------

But, if you were to entice some nice, friendly, hard-working beavers to your property adn they were to build or enhance your dam that would be mother nature doing what she does best, and they wouldn't be able to do a thing about it.

So maybe you need a couple beavers you can train to build in a certain spot.

 

[dmccarty]

When almost all existing anti-fouling paints are toxic, its hard to police if you add an exception.

I guess the government should also make it illegal for tractor owners to change engine oil, hydraulic oil and engine coolant since it is toxic..

Later,
Dan